Originally posted on March 6, 2023 at 10:50 am on the Harlequin Author Network. Written by Miranda Indrigo
It is with great sadness that we announce that Harlequin/Mills & Boon author Rebecca Winters died recently, aged 83.
Rebecca Winters’ first novel for Harlequin/Mills & Boon, Blind To Love, went on sale in December 1988. A prolific author with a career spanning 35 years, Rebecca published over 175 novels for Harlequin/Mills & Boon, selling almost thirty million copies worldwide. She wrote for several series including Romance/True Love, Western/American Romance and Superromance. A strong fan favourite, Rebecca won the National Readers’ Choice Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, RWA’s Centennial Award and was named Utah Writer of the Year.

Rebecca’s romances enchanted readers around the world, sweeping them away to romantic destinations with a billionaire or fictional kingdoms to experience life in a royal relationship; as well as finding love down on the ranch with a handsome cowboy and the promise of family. And speaking of family, Rebecca was so proud of hers. A mother to four, she was delighted in 2010 to publish a mother/daughter duet for American Romance, A Mother’s Wedding Day, alongside her daughter, Dominique Burton.
At the time of her death, Rebecca was still writing for Harlequin/Mills & Boon and planning her 180th novel. Her last book, Billionaire’s Second Chance in Paris, will be published in June 2023 and is the final story in the Sons of a Parisian Dynasty trilogy.

Rebecca Winters’ editor, Laurie Johnson, says: ‘It’s been an honour and privilege to be Becky’s editor. I’ve been a reader of her romances since I was a teen and had a little fangirl moment when I became her editor. Sweet and delightful, she was an absolute joy to work with. She was a consummate professional with a supremely positive attitude. I always looked forward to reading her cheerful messages before diving into her wonderful stories. It was especially a pleasure to work on her last trilogy, set in Paris and featuring Becky’s signature billionaires with hearts of gold. Becky was a much-loved author for the Harlequin Romance/Mills & Boon True Love series. Her legacy will continue through her enduring backlist of books, with stories that deliver those truly heart-warming Happy Ever Afters we’ve all come to know, and love, from Becky.’
Executive Editor Kathleen Scheibling says: ‘I am so sorry to hear of the passing of Rebecca Winters. Becky was one of the very first authors I worked with when I started at Harlequin in 2001. Her Superromance books were wonderful—she told complex and interesting stories with such a depth of emotion. She was so imaginative! One of my early favourite Superromances was Home to Copper Mountain, which had a professional Formula One driver hero whose nickname was Lucky. Becky loved to research plots and characters, and I could always count on her facts being correct, whether she was writing about Texas Rangers, astronomers or biologists.

I worked with her on many series, including American Romance, which turned into Western Romance. In these stories, her love for the National Parks of the U.S.A. shone. Her stories set in Yosemite and the Grand Tetons were beautifully detailed with facts about nature and how her characters respected and cared for the land. While she always wrote romances with big, dramatic emotional arcs, the settings of her North American-set stories sparkled, and made you want to jump into her books to enjoy the gorgeous surroundings as much as her characters. Becky was a delight to work with—enthusiastic about creating wonderful stories, and incredibly diligent about delivering her books on time (an editor’s dream!) Her gratitude for her life, her family, and her career poured out into her writing. I will miss her.”